“We wanted to expand our furniture category to our customer base and felt Bailey Street’s product offering with case goods, occasional furniture and chairs was a strategic fit into our long term plans,” Smith says. “Bailey Street is known for quality and a good value proposition so this made the combination that much more compelling.”

Smith says ELK’s rapid growth, including acquisitions of Baldinger Architectural Lighting, Sterling Industries, Artistic Lighting and Designs, Nulco Lighting and now Bailey Street in the last 12 months, will help lighting showrooms expand their offerings.

“The intention is to create a complete home furnishings company that will offer our customers a vast selection of categories, from lighting to mirrors to accessories and furniture,” Smith says. “We believe this approach aligns well with the direction of many showrooms that are expanding into additional product channels as they search for incremental sales growth opportunities.”

Smith says Bailey Street will continue to operate as a standalone furniture brand, but that an analysis of freight costs is underway to determine the potential for combined company programs. Bailey Street will also continue to maintain its own showrooms in Atlanta, Dallas, High Point and Las Vegas, but Smith says he will review possible combination opportunities as they arise.